Regional Editor — Southwest Virginia – Cardinal News

Regional Editor — Southwest Virginia – Cardinal News

Cardinal Newsis seeking aRegional Editorto guide and support a growing team of journalists in Southwest Virginia, including two staff reporters and a network of freelancers. This is a key leadership role for someone who’s passionate aboutelevating local voices, producing high-impact journalism, and strengthening coverage in communities that have long been underserved by traditional news outlets.

You will be responsible for ensuring Cardinal is telling the important stories of a nine-county region in the western part of Virginia. You’ll work directly with two full-time reporters — one based in or near

Wise Countyand the other one in Bristol, with both focused on accountability and enterprise reporting. You’ll provide day-to-day editing support, from shaping pitches to refining drafts and ensuring the final product meets Cardinal’s editorial standards.

You’ll also play a critical role in expanding and strengthening ourfreelance network— identifying regional writers, photographers, and subject-area experts, and helping them bring their best work to publication. You’ll provide mentorship and editorial guidance that helps newer voices grow and seasoned contributors thrive.

This is a chance to help shape the future of nonprofit, community-based journalism in rural Appalachia — and to support journalists who are listening to and serving the people who live there.

• Edit and support two full-time reporters based in Southwest Virginia.
• Guide stories from pitch to publication, ensuring clarity, impact, and journalistic integrity.
• Coach reporters in accountability journalism, enterprise development, public records usage, sourcing, and multimedia storytelling.
• Recruit, develop, and editfreelancers and contributorsacross the region.
• Help identify story gaps, trends, and under reported issues within the region.
• Ensure coverage reflects the real concerns and lived experiencesof local communities.
• Collaborate with the editorial leadership team to align coverage with Cardinal’s mission and values.
• Occasionally edit or contribute to larger team projects, explainers, and regional series.

• Strong editing background, with at least3–5 years of newsroom or editorial leadership experience.
• Experience editing or managingenterprise and accountability reporting.
• A deep appreciation for thepower and complexity of rural and regional journalism— and a track record of supporting reporters who work in these areas.
• Excellent line editing and story structuring skills, with a sharp eye for accuracy, fairness, and voice.
• Commitment to coaching and development — especially for early-career journalists and freelance contributors.
• Ability to collaborate with remote teams, stay organized, and manage multiple projects on deadline.
• Comfort working with multimedia content and an interest in exploringnontraditional storytelling formats.
• Enthusiasm for community engagement, listening journalism, and solutions-oriented reporting.
• A deep belief in journalism as a public service — especially for communities too often overlooked.

• Familiarity with Southwest Virginia and/or the Appalachian region.
• Experience with freelance newsroom operations.
• Background in nonprofit or mission-driven newsrooms.
• A working understanding of the economic, political, and cultural dynamics unique to rural Appalachian communities.

Cardinal Newsis a nonprofit digital news organization serving communities in Southwest and Southside Virginia. We were founded in the fall of 2021 to report the untold stories of these regions and strengthen the voices of the people in our communities who have been sidelined in the commonwealth’s political, economic and cultural conversations — simply because of where they live.

We were named

Startup of the Yearby the Institute for Nonprofit Newsin 2021, andLION Business of the Yearby

LION Publishersin 2025. We are continuing to grow rapidly, with expansion projects underway to deepen our reporting and broaden our local news network to better serve our communities.

We want our team members to feel supported in their work. We budget…